Books, reviews and discussion

July Wrap Up

I ended up reading 16 books this month which is two more than last month. I am immensely proud of myself for this achievement. This was also due to there being two readathon’s I participated/am participating In July.

Adam Kay was a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010, before a devastating experience on a ward caused him to reconsider his future. He kept a diary throughout his training, and This Is Going to Hurt intersperses tales from the front line of the NHS with reflections on the current crisis. The result is a first-hand account of life as a junior doctor in all its joy, pain, sacrifice and maddening bureaucracy, and a love letter to those who might at any moment be holding our lives in their hands.

The Story Cure – Ella Berthoud, Susan Elderkin

Read: 4th July

Rated: 5 Stars

Review: This book was such an interesting read, It was full of potential ailments that children could have and it had the stories to cure them. It is also a Stunning book, the cover is magnificent. I loved flicking through the book and reading it little by little as a reference when I needed it.

Synopsis:

From tantrums to tummy aches to teenage mood swings, there are times when a book is the best medicine of all. The Story Cure is a manual for grownups who believe that the stories which shape children’s lives should not be left to chance.

In these pages bibliotherapists Ella and Susan recommend the perfect children’s book – from picture books to YA novels via the golden world of chapter books – for every hiccup and heartache. Whether the young child you know is being bullied, the toddler can’t sleep, or the teenager has fallen in love for the first time – or just doesn’t know what to read next – the right story will help them feel themselves again. Packed full of helpful lists of the best books to read when turning ten or going through a spy/horse/superhero phase, you’ll find old favourites such as The Borrowers and The Secret Garden alongside modern classics by MT Anderson, Malorie Blackman and Frank Cottrell Boyce. The Story Cure is the perfect companion for initiating young readers into one of life’s greatest pleasures.

In this provocative novel Mark Blacklock portrays the true and complex history of John Humble, aka Wearside Jack, the Ripper Hoaxer, a timewaster and criminal, sympathetic and revolting, the man hidden by a wall of words, a fiction-spinner worthy of textual analysis. In this remarkable work, John Humble leads the reader into an allusive, elusive labyrinth of interpretations, simultaneously hoodwinking and revealing.

I’m Jack is a riveting novel about truth, lies, prison and shame. It is also a profound and furious love letter to Sunderland. It is a puzzle, a hoax, a multi-voice portrait and a virtuoso assemblage of textual elements. I’m Jack announces the arrival of a radically talented and innovative novelist.

1978. Ponte, a small community in Northern Italy: peaceful woods, discarded rubbish, a closed-down factory. An unbearably hot summer, like so many others–wilted flowers and trips to the waterfalls.

Elia Furenti is sixteen, living in a secluded house with his parents, a life so unremarkable that even its moderate unhappiness has been accepted as normal. Then a new friend arrives in Ponte, firmly propelling Elia to the edge of adulthood, and everything starts to unravel.

Elia’s father, Ettore, is let go from his job, and he begins to lose himself in the darkest corners of his mind. A young boy is murdered, shaking the small community to its core. And a girl climbs into a van and vanishes in the deep, dark woods . . .

The Uses of Enchantment – Bruno Bettelheim

Read: 5th July

Rated: 4 Stars

Review: I used this book as a reference for my Dissertation and I absolutely loved Bettelheim’s theory on fairy tales and how they are needed within society.

Synopsis:

Wicked stepmothers and beautiful princesses … magic forests and enchanted towers … little pigs and big bad wolves … Fairy tales have been an integral part of childhood for hundreds of years. But what do they really mean?

In this award-winning work of criticism, renowned psychoanalyst Dr Bruno Bettelheim presents a thought provoking and stimulating exploration of the best-known fairy stories. He reveals the true content of the stories and shows how children can use them to cope with their baffling emotions and anxieties.

Percy Jackson and The Greek Heroes

Read: 5th July

Rated: 4 Stars

Review: I loved these spin-off books from the Percy Jackson series. I have now read the Greek Gods, Greek Heroes and The Demigod Files. All were great at introducing me to new people or tales I encountered within the universe of Percy Jackson which was so helpful to me.

When Jason, Piper and Leo crash land at Camp Half-Blood, they have no idea what to expect. Apparently this is the only safe place for children of the Greek Gods – despite the monsters roaming the woods and demigods practising archery with flaming arrows and explosives. But rumours of a terrible curse – and a missing hero – are flying around camp. It seems Jason, Piper and Leo are the chosen ones to embark on a terrifying new quest, which they must complete by the winter solstice. In just four days time. Can the trio succeed on this deadly mission – and what must they sacrifice in order to survive?

A dark, gripping and witty thriller in which the only thing humanity has control over is death.

In a world where disease, war and crime have been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (“gleaned”) by professional scythes. Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythes’ apprentices, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation, they must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do.

Only one of them will be chosen as a scythe’s apprentice and as Citra and Rowan come up against a terrifyingly corrupt Scythedom, it becomes clear that the winning apprentice’s first task will be to glean the loser.

Two centuries ago, in the small, isolated town, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return from the depths, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them down to their watery deaths.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into or the fact that his arrival will change everything…

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

The remarkable, emotional debut novel, both funny and moving, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, from the critically aclaimed Andrea Levy, author of the Orange Prize winning SMALL ISLAND and the Man Booker shortlisted THE LONG SONG.

‘Better opportunity’ – that’s why Angela’s dad sailed to England from America in 1948 on the Empire Windrush. Six months later her mum joined him in his one room in Earl’s Court…

…Twenty years and four children later, Mr Jacob has become seriously ill and starts to move unsteadily through the care of the National Health Service. As Angela, his youngest, tries to help her mother through this ordeal, she finds herself reliving her childhood years, spent on a council estate in Highbury.

“It’s not particularly difficult to run a successful bookshop, thought Valerie: a grasp of the rudiments of business, a sensible plan, a little skill in negotiation, a couple of contacts and a large portion of magic.”

When businesswoman Valerie takes over the bookshop owned by her aunt — who has vanished without trace — her intention is to bring some order to the chaos, and then sell the business. But she has underestimated the power of the little shop. One day she stumbles upon a mysterious book with an unfinished ending. Valerie thinks it must be a defective copy, but when a customer turns up searching for that very book, her view of the shop — and world — shifts, as she is forced to question what is and isn’t possible.

A Very Special Year is a declaration of love for literature, for beautiful books, the power and magic of stories as well as proof that the world of the imagination is still alive within us.

See How They Lie – Sue Wallman

Read: 24th July

Rated: 3 Stars

Review: Blog post up soon

Synopsis:

All’s not well at the Hummingbird Creek wellness resort. No one can see in. No one can get out… New from the talented author who brought you Lying About Last Summer: a psycho-chiller to wake up your darkest phobias. If you got to live in a luxury hotel with world-class cuisine, a state-of-the-art sports centre and the latest spa treatments, would you say ‘yes please’? Well, that’s kind of what Hummingbird Creek is like. No wonder Mae feels lucky to be there. It’s meant as a rich-kid’s sanatorium, but she isn’t sick. Her dad is the top psychiatrist there. But one day Mae breaks a rule. NOT a good idea. This place is all about rules – and breaking them can hurt you…

I’ll Give You The Sun – Jandy Nelson

Read: 27th July

Rated: 5 Stars

Review: Blog Post up soon

Synopsis

From the author of The Sky Is Every­where, a radiant novel that will leave you laughing and crying – all at once. For fans of John Green, Gayle Forman and Lauren Oliver. Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close – until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they are barely speaking. Then Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy as well as a captivating new mentor, both of whom may just need her as much as she needs them. What the twins don’t realize is that each of them has only half the story and if they can just find their way back to one another, they have a chance to remake their world.

If I Stay – Gayle Forman

Read: 30th July

Rated: 4 Stars

Review: Blog Post up soon

Synopsis:

‘Just listen,’ Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.’ I open my eyes wide now. I sit up as much as I can. And I listen.

‘Stay,’ he says.

Everybody has to make choices.
Some might break you.

For seventeen-year-old Mia, surrounded by a wonderful family, friends and a gorgeous boyfriend decisions might seem tough, but they’re all about a future full of music and love, a future that’s brimming with hope.
But life can change in an instant.
A cold February morning . . . a snowy road . . . and suddenly all of Mia’s choices are gone. Except for one.
As alone as she’ll ever be, Mia must make the most difficult choice of all.
Haunting, heartrending and ultimately life-affirming, If I Stay will make you appreciate all that you have, all that you’ve lost – and all that might be.

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and travelling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Tom’s Midnight Garden – Philippa Pearce

Read: 31st July

Rated: 4 Stars

Review: Blog Post up soon

Synopsis:

When Tom is sent to stay at his aunt and uncle’s house for the summer, he resigns himself to endless weeks of boredom. As he lies awake in his bed he hears the grandfather clock downstairs strike . . .

eleven . . . twelve . . . thirteen . . .

Thirteen! Tom races down the stairs and out the back door, into a garden everyone told him wasn’t there.

In this enchanted thirteenth hour, the garden comes alive – but Tom is never sure whether the children he meets there are real or ghosts . . .

This entrancing and magical story is one of the best-loved children’s books ever written